Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular to produce electricity. To support solar panels, roof racking systems may be used. Roof racking systems are generally mounted to an existing structure of a house or building, such as beams or plywood underlying roofing shingles or tiles. Commonly, fasteners are used to permit such attachment. Furthermore, the roof racking systems may need to mirror the pre-existing tile structure, and thus may require a tile replacement system using a tile flashing. Such replacement systems may introduce another level of complexity to the structure.
As the exterior, and prominently the roof, of a structure undergoes wet environments, such as rain, sleet, or snow, roof racking systems attached to the house must prevent water and other moisture from leaking into the interior of the structure. In particular, the beams or plywood must be protected from water damage. As fasteners are used to attach the roof racking system, the fasteners frequently pierce the roof structure, creating a potential passageway whereby water may enter the structure of the building. Accordingly, to protect against water damage, among other methods, washers and/or other seal elements are commonly placed around the fastener and/or the aperture created by the fastener to prevent moisture from flowing into or entering a hole in which the fastener is situated. However, washers and seals sometimes fail to adequately protect against water damage.
Additionally, conventional roof racking systems may use one or more small, loose components that are provided individually for on-site, time-of-install integration. Due to the nature of the racking systems, installation of the systems frequently occurs in hazardous environments, such as on a roof of a building. In such a situation, a system that includes small, loose components may cause unnecessary delays and annoyance whenever a loose component is inadvertently dropped. Moreover, such a system may increase the risk to a user's safety when the user tries to recover a dropped component, in that the user could lose his/her balance and fall.